Hugs make the world go round

Day 13 of school. Day 13.... boy how time is flying! I can't believe it.  Tomorrow will be the end of my 3rd week. I will officially be 1/4 of the way done with student teaching. Is that possible? 9 weeks left and then its done? Finished? Completed? It is definitely hard to imagine.  I know I may talk about or mention it all the time, but I am still in shock. Am I really in the midst of student teaching right now? Am I really teaching half the day right now? Someone please pinch me! But I guess this is it. I am doing it and I will be graduating in December. Its hard to fathom that my Bachelors degree is so close, but it still seems far away.  The light is growing brighter and brighter every day though.

Ok, enough of my moans and groans and sentimental feelings. School today was extremely hot! I walked in the classroom this morning and it was 88 degrees. At the end of the day the thermometer read 93 degrees and that is with 7 fans running all day! The kids were all in heat moods like I like to call them.  They are just purely uncomfortable with all the heat and humidity which makes for short fuses throughout the day.  All in all it was not a bad day. We received a new student into our classroom and everybody seems to like her! :)  The other teachers in the building are actually getting to know me now so I'm becoming not only so and so student teachers but Miss Higgins. They recognize and acknowledge me now which is kinda a big deal in my opinion. I'm beginning to feel like a somebody who is a member of the teaching team. I have even gotten asked my opinion at a problem solving committee because of my library background. :)  This week our main worry has been on RtI time ( Response to Intervention) and who is going to be in what group and who will lead that group. My mentor told me today that I will have my own group right off of the bat starting next week (when we start having RtI time) and I will be responsible.  My mentor teacher says she is sure that I can do it. She will plan the first 3 weeks worth of lessons and then from there on it will be up to me (which is very exciting and nerve wracking because the students have to learn these skills; their education depends on it!). But I do know that the people around won't let me fail. I feel like I have a such a great support team that failing seems impossible. I have been so blessed to say the least to have had the mentors that I have had.

But the students also receive credit for inspiring me too. The backgrounds of some of the students just makes my heart break. . They may not be thinking about their futures right now, but I see them graduating and continuing their education, climbing out of the situations that they are in now. But the thought that struck me today was that it starts now. If students don't really like school in the elementary levels then they probably have a greater chance of dropping out in high school because they think they can't do it. Now, I haven't done research of any sort on it, but I just feel that its the truth. Few students succeed if they don't have the self-confidence and encouragement from the people in their lives, and teachers are in their lives. Which brings me to the title of this post 'hugs make the world go round.'  Hugs are encouragement both for student and teacher alike. I hug given freely to a teacher is a silent thank you in my opinion for being there in their lives and caring about them enough to want to teach them. A hug freely given to a student in return for his/her hug is a silent form of encouragement. It says 'I will be here for you. I want you to succeed.'  Students need teachers and teachers need students to remind them why they are teaching. Each day that I can put a smile on a students face or give a hug, I am truly reminded why I do what I do.


Until next post, cherish the people in your lives. You never how you impact a person.
Miss Higgins